Midmar Energy Confirms Iraq Joint Venture: OILVOICE

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Midmar Energy Ltd today confirms that, further to recent media articles, its associate company, Mesopotamia Petroleum Company ("MPC"), is in the advanced stages of discussion regarding the establishment of a joint venture with the Iraq Government owned Iraq Drilling Company ("IDC").

MPC confirms that talks concerning the establishment of a joint venture with IDC, under a mandate from the Iraq Ministry of Oil, have reached an advanced stage. "MPC is delighted to see such positive comments from the Iraqi Minister of Oil, His Excellency Hussain al-Shahristani, and IDC's Director-General, Idriss al-Yasseri, and looks forward to gaining ratification from the relevant authorities ahead of commencing operations. A further announcement will be made in due course.
Midmar formed MPC in 2005, with its partners, as an oil and gas company established for the specific purpose of undertaking operations in Iraq. Midmar holds a 32.67% interest.

Iraqi Oil Minister Hussein Al Shahristani inaugurates Haditha refinery: ALSOMARIYYA  23 JULY

Iraqi Oil Minister Hussein Al Shahristani inaugurated Haditha refinery that enjoys a new productive power estimated at 16 000 barrels a day. Al Shahristani affirmed that the ministry will seek to rehabilitate the refinery with other productive units as part of a plan to upgrade to high production levels and turn Iraq into an oil derivatives export country.

Finance Minister: surplus oil revenue is to be distributed to all governorates: ALSABAH-ARABIC
 Finance Minister Baqir Jabr Al-Zubaidi anticipated  that in the year 2009 the budget figures will reach between 70 to 80 billion dollars, at a time when Iraq intends to acquire a strategic planning tool for the next three years  
He said the ministry wishes to establish a special fund to finance strategic projects with allocations between five to ten billion dollars and it has formed a ministerial committee for this purpose.. He explained that these funds will be allocated to building of oil refineries, construction of railways and highways,  the establishment of between 10 to 15 sophisticated hospitals, ports  and the purchase of aircrafts. He called on the French and Europeans and Americans to participate in these projects.
Zubaid Indicated  that  the Iraqi government took an urgent action to distribute part of the surplus oil revenues to the 18 Iraqi governorates of the country eight years at between 100 to 150 million dollars to finance urgent projects.

Zubaidi also said that creation of jobs and promoting the economy will induce peace to Iraq.

 There are no official figures on unemployment , which is currently estimated to be 26 million people, but some estimates indicate that about half of those who are able to work in this country are suffering from unemployment.

Expert: economic progress and jump  investment in Iraq last June: ASWATALIRAQ-ARABIB
  
An  expert and member of the economic committee overseeing the  Central Bank of Iraq auction said that the month of June last saw progress in the Iraqi economy and a "surge" in attracting many of the huge investments, because of the security improvement in the country.

Dr. Mohammed Saleh pointed out that these economic developments "have made increasing demands on the auction at Central Bank of Iraq to grow significantly during the last two months, recording very high levels of demand."
He added that "while the average demand for the auction did not exceed ten million dollars a day, at the opening of the auction four years ago has  increased to (60) million last year, hitting an average of not less than a (100) million dollars a day, during the months of June / June and July (2008) "

Iraq's banking sector eyes growth as violence falls: REUTERS

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq's banking sector is showing signs of growth as violence has dropped to a four-year low, with lending, deposits and electronic transfers up sharply in recent months, U.S. embassy statistics show. The volume of loans issued by private banks in February jumped by almost half to $755 million compared with October, and the value of letters of credit outstanding in March more than doubled to $189 million versus October.

Iraqi Prime Minister  in Europe in search of energy partners: MARKETPLACE

 His five-day trip includes stops in Germany and Italy, where he will meet with energy firms interested in tapping Iraqi's oil. Violence in his country is down and al-Maliki wants to send a message that Iraq is open for business.

Dan Grech: Iraq is sitting on billions of barrels of oil, but it doesn't have the money or expertise to pull it out of the ground, so it's looking to European energy firms to help get the job done. In the long term, Iraq plans to partner with foreign companies to develop new wells.

David Kirsch: The prize on offer, if you will, in Iraq is so great that no oil company can really afford to write it off completely.

That's David Kirsch. He's a former State Department energy analyst now with PFC Energy Consultants.

Kirsch: But I still don't think the oil companies are ready to commit their own personnel to on the ground operations in Iraq.

Kirsch says the streets are too dangerous and the politics too unstable for big oil firms to invest the billions Iraq needs.

Iraq's parliament has yet to pass an oil law that would protect oil companies' long-term investments

Iraq's parliament passes poll law, Kurds walk out: REUTERS

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq's parliament passed a provincial elections bill on Tuesday, but a walkout by Kurdish lawmakers over how to deal with the disputed oil city of Kirkuk could mean the law will not be ratified by the presidency. Kurds make up one of three main groups, and their boycott of the vote means the bill could be sent back to parliament. The law is meant to pave the way for polls seen as vital to reconciling Iraq's Sunni Arabs, who boycotted the last provincial elections in 2005, with its other communities.

UPDATE: Talabani denounces election law
Iraq's president says he will not approve a draft provincial election law adopted by MPs despite a Kurdish walkout.

Iraq troop trash fuels innovation: http://www.baltimoresun.com

It is the latest in a long line of wartime innovations, from can openers to desert boots. The conflict in Iraq has produced innovations such as "warlocks," which jam electronic signals from cell phones, garage door openers and other electronic devices that insurgents use to detonate roadside bombs, according to Inventors Digest. ....

The Tiger works like this: A shredder rips up waste and soaks it in water. A bioreactor metabolizes the sludge into ethanol. A pelletizer compresses undigested waste into pellets that are fed into a gasification unit, which produces composite gas.

The ethanol, composite gas and a 10-percent diesel drip are injected into a diesel generator to produce electricity, according to scientists. It takes about six hours for the Tiger to power up. When it works, the device can power a 60-kilowatt generator.

The prototypes are being tested at Camp Victory in Baghdad

The Iraq Primary